About The Frame®

Airs Weekdays at 3:30 p.m.

A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts and entertainment produced by Southern California Public Radio. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.

Say it’s Friday night and you want to go out to the movie theater. How do you decide which movie you’re going to see?

According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 341 feature-length films were released in 2017—that’s basically a new title every single day. And with movie ticket prices rising and more on-demand entertainment available in our homes, some of us turn to critics to help us decide how to spend our money when we do get off the couch.

"Ultimately, I don't find myself concerned with what movie studios say we are or aren't, because we're a resource for fans," said Rotten Tomatoes senior editor Grae Drake. "We're there for people that are trying to figure out how to spend their hard earned money when they finally have a date night and a sitter...Give audiences some credit, Hollywood."

Drake has a front row seat to how films are registering with critics and audiences alike. She came by The Frame studio recently to talk about the year in film reviews, and to address whether film critics still matter.